Karaoke Night
by SF3P0X1
Summary: Sonic and company throw together a karaoke night in a local teahouse, and surprises abound for everyone. Features some mild cursing, and a couple OCs.
1. CH1: Drink for Her

A/N: I can't believe I've come back here. Oh well.

This is my Karaoke Night series. I finally finished it, and I'm posting it up here for the enjoyment of everyone else. Now, I know there's some kind of minor rule in the guidelines about not using song lyrics in your stories, but I just don't care. If the fucking RedBotton bot is allowed to stay on site even though the guidelines clearly say that botting isn't allowed, then who are they to say my story isn't allowed?

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><p>I couldn't believe I had let them drag me up here. I know I had told them I didn't sing. I know I had said something to Stealth at least. But then, here we were. I was up here, behind this curtain, an acoustic guitar in my hands and my heart in tatters. We were up next, to sing for the enjoyment of the audience… and I needed a drink, but can you find anything to drink in a teahouse? Anything worthwhile, anyway?<p>

"Next up is a guy who simply wants to be known as the Carbine. He's here to sing for you a song about heartbreak. Give it up for the Carbine!"

The stagehand began pulling the cord on the curtain and revealing Stealth and I to the audience. I was holding that stupid guitar, and Stealth was behind me on the drums. Supposedly, he could cover drums and backup vocals, but I really didn't want him to cover either. I didn't want to be here.

"Woot! Go Carbine!"

There were several catcalls and whistles from the audience, and a microphone was set up before me. I adjusted the guitar in my lap, strummed a couple strings to check for tuning, and then leaned into the mic.

"I did not write this song… my buddy Stealth introduced me to a band called Jars of Clay, and this song belongs to them." There… that should be all the warm up I need.

My left hand fit the frets on the guitar neck, and my right hand fingered the pick, ready to strike at any moment. Tonight… tonight, this would be my weapon. Who was the enemy? My broken heart.

_**Fare thee well… **_

_**Trade in all our words for tea and sympathy…**_

_**And wonder why we tried for things could never be… **_

_**Play our hearts' lament like an unrehearsed symphony…**_

I began to sing, and began to play. As the room fell silent, I could hear my heart beat to the rhythm of my music. As each note fell, and as each word formed upon and expelled from my lips, I could almost hear her words.

"_Carbine… we need to talk." _

_She walked up to me, her ears hanging cutely in front of her. This was my dream girl, my one and only. She was called Cream, and in earlier years, she had been the talk of the town, going from door to door every day to help the needy with no regard to her own safety. This was how we had met._

_I had been walking down the street when I spotted a thief trying to exit my neighbor's house through a window while carrying their large screen television. I had run forward, removing my energy pistol from the holster on my belt, and began shouting for the man to stop. He didn't listen, and instead ran out into the middle of the road and snatched up Cream as she was crossing. The young rabbit was so afraid she didn't know where to turn when the man pulled a knife out of his pocket and pressed it up against her throat._

_I had stopped and stood there, staring the man down, my gun pointed at his head. My finger stayed off the trigger in fear of provoking him into actually killing the young girl, but as I inched forward, he began to shake. Cream squirmed slightly and yelled, which startled the man and he dropped both the knife and Cream. I took my chance and fired my weapon, nailing him between the eyes. He died on the spot, but before he had even hit the ground, the young rabbit had run to me and had buried her face into my shirt, her arms wrapped around my midsection. She had been 12 at the time, same as I._

_That was nearly 4 years prior to our current meeting. We had been dating ever since, and I had thought that we were both happy._

"_Yeah, babe? What do you need to talk about?" I looked up into her eyes, and I saw pain there. Pain and sadness… the two emotions I had tried so hard over our relationship to keep away from her. I didn't like my girlfriends to be sad or to hurt in any way. It made me feel like I wasn't doing my job._

_Cream sighed and sat down across from me. We had agreed to meet here, at this very same teahouse, earlier in the day. They served my favorite, black tea with lime, as well as her favorite, carrot tea. I had already ordered our teas and they were on their way to the table when she arrived._

_I could tell there was something on her mind. It hadn't even occurred to me that she had started the conversation with the classic trouble starter 'we need to talk' line. I watched her face, and realized she was trying to avoid my eyes. This didn't bode well._

_**Not intent…**_

_**To leave this castle full of empty rooms…**_

_**Love the captive in the tower never rescued…**_

_**And all our victory songs seem to be playing out of tune…**_

_She looked into my eyes and took a deep breath. "Carbine, spending time with you has been the best. I loved being with you. You're the kindest, gentlest person I've ever been with." She stopped talking for a moment and looked down._

_Something struck me as odd. Cream never talked like this. I mean, I knew she liked me, and I knew she appreciated and enjoyed being with me, but she never voiced it. She never once told me all this in all our years together. It felt like she was… oh no. Please, please God, no._

'_**Cause it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_**Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy, no…**_

_**And it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_She lifted her head, tears streaming down her face. "Carbine, I love you, but not in the way I should be. I don't love you the way a girlfriend should love her boyfriend."_

_**You begin…**_

_**All your words fall to the floor and break like china cups…**_

"_I love you as a friend," she continued. "In my heart, as much as it hurts… I know we'd be better off as friends."_

_There it was. Those were the words I had been dreading. Cream was everything to me, but now she wanted to be just friends. I didn't know what to say. I lowered my head to avoid looking her in the eyes, then reached for the cup of tea that had been set in front of me and began to drink it, slowly, purposefully. I needed to think._

_**And the waitress grabs a broom and tries to sweep them up…**_

_**I reach for my tea, and slowly drink in…**_

_I hear a quiet shatter behind me and turn my head. A child seated at a table not far from ours had knocked his cup off accidentally. I watched out of the corner of my eye as a waitress hurried over to the table with a broom and dustpan and began cleaning up the mess. I slowly turned my head back to Cream._

'_**Cause it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_**Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy, no…**_

_**And it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_**Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy…**_

_I watched as Cream made to rise, leaving her cup of tea untouched. She held her eyes away from mine. I still had yet to say anything, as I could think of nothing to say. My heart had just been shattered into a million pieces, and no amount of glue could ever piece it back together. _

"_I'm sorry Carbine. I really am… I hope we can still get together sometime. You know… chat up life. I really want us to continue seeing each other as friends. I can't stand to lose you because of a simple little thing like this." She sniffled and I watched as a single tear fell from her left eye, rolled down her cheek, and then fell onto the floor. She turned to leave._

_**Fare thee well…**_

_**Your words, the bag of leaves that fill my head…**_

_My tea was gone, and so was my dream girl. I sighed and wiped my eyes of the water that had begun to build in them, then turned back to the table and reached for her tea. I had never tried this kind before, but there was no use letting good tea go to waste. I took a drink and puckered as the sour tasting liquid bounded into my mouth._

_**I could taste the bitterness, but call the waitress instead…**_

'_**Cause she holds the answer… she smiles and asks, "One teaspoon or two?"**_

_I called the waitress to my table and asked for sugar, and as she poured three spoonfuls into my cup and stirred, I sighed. She smiled, leaned down and gave me a kiss on the cheek to cheer me up, then turned and walked away. I really should have asked her for her number… her nametag had read Kezadee, as far as I could remember._

'_**Cause it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_**Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy, no…**_

_**And it's not the way…**_

_**It has to be…**_

_**Don't trade our love for tea and sympathy…**_

I choked up at the last line, setting my guitar down and wiping my eyes. The last echo of my music faded into oblivion, and the audience was silent. I felt a hand on my back, and as I turned my head, I saw Stealth standing there, offering me a handkerchief. He put his arm around my shoulders, gathered up my guitar, and we walked offstage.

As we disappeared behind the curtain once more, I heard applause start in the teahouse. It wasn't very loud, and sounded like only two or three people clapping, but it didn't really matter. All that mattered was that I felt much better then I had before coming to this thing. I had had a chance to think things over, and my heart didn't feel so heavy anymore.

I walked with my head down for a while, then smiled and lifted my eyes to where I could see where I was going. I stopped for a second to lean against a wall and observe the next performers, and a foxy girl walked up to me, smiling. She seemed familiar.

"Hi, I'm Kez."


	2. CH2: All of Me

"Let's give a big hand for Carbine!" The announcer was trying to get the audience of this little tea house to get into the groove of things. I'd gotten a look at the list of contestants for tonight's show, and I realized that we were going to be here a while. I had watched Carbine from the front row of the teahouse as he sang his song, and I could see his eyes slowly closing as he got into the groove of his song, memories pouring into his head, and soon enough he had been crying. I thought it was nice, though a little out of character for him. He _was_ an ex-soldier, after all. Soldiers didn't cry.

Next up was my best bud Tails. I had gone to the back behind the curtain to give him a thumbs up and a reassuring smile, but it did little to boost his nerves. The little guy had a thing for stage fright, and imagining everyone in their underwear wouldn't help tonight because, well, nobody wore underwear, save for a few of the girls and Carbine.

"I… I d-don't know if I can go out there and do this," he kept saying. I could hear his voice shaking, and I figured he was nervous. There were a lot more people here than usual for something like this.

I smiled, lifting his chin and patting his head. "Don't worry, little buddy. You'll do great." I would have said more, but I heard the announcer take the stage and tap the microphone for the audience to quiet down. I gave Tails a pat on the back and took off; back to reclaim my front row seat before somebody snatched it.

"Ladies and gentlemen," began the announcer, "I'd like to introduce Miles 'Tails' Prower!" There was another spattering of applause, and I admit mine was the loudest and most enthusiastic. I wanted to give him courage.

The kitsune trotted onto the stage, his head down, clutching at his music book. He clambered over to the electric keyboard that had been set up near the back of the stage. It was set in the shadows a bit, and that fact looked like it helped his composure. He set up his music book on the stand, adjusted the microphone for optimum musical and vocal reception, and tapped it to make sure it was on. Then, like Carbine before him, he gave a little intro.

"Hey… everyone. My name… my name is Tails, and I'm going to be singing an Evanescence song called My Immortal. I'm a little nervous, so I might squeak a little bit."

I watched his face grow red a little, and then he straightened his back and sat up, effectively hiding his face in the shadows.

The fox began with a slow piano intro… a simple alternate of notes climbing up and down the piano keyboard. It sounded sad… a tune I was not accustomed to hearing out of him. I admit I've never been a fan of Evanescence and have tried to stay away from most music like they do, but I had heard this song once or twice and was quite curious as to why Tails had chosen to perform it.

I watched as he eased into playing the intro, and then his figure moved forward to the microphone.

"_**I'm so tired of being here… suppressed by all my childish fears."**_

Such a solemn tone… it was a very depressing way to start a song, in my opinion. Most of what Amy Lee seemed to sing was dark and depressing, which was why I tried to stay away from her music. I could not yet decide why Tails had decided to sing this particular song, but the next part of this verse revealed it quite clearly to me.

"_**And if you have to leave… I wish that you would just leave. Your presence still lingers here, and it won't leave me alone…"**_

Tails… Tails was singing about losing a loved one. In an instant the realization came crashing down on me; Tails was singing about losing Cosmo. It's been almost a year, and he was still hurting after losing her. I suppose I really couldn't help him, since I didn't know how it felt to lose someone so close to me. I silently watched him, and slowly memories began flooding into my head... visions of him and her, from what I had seen.

"_**These wounds won't seem to heal, and this pain is just too real… there's just too much that time cannot erase."**_

I remember the first time I saw them together… and I mean really together. It wasn't just him fixing one of his inventions and her helping him out. I remember stepping into the garage that day and seeing them talking, laughing, and generally having a good time. I watched him crack jokes and she would laugh at the ones she understood, while giving him a puzzled look after the ones that confused her. I remember her handing him tools and every now and then poking his side playfully. It made me smile… it was good to see Tails like that.

Times weren't always good and fun. We were always at odds with the Metarex, and though I never showed it, I was severely worried about the well doing of my companions. I was worried that one day we would fall under attack and I wouldn't be there to protect them.

"_**When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears."**_

Hmm… that reminded me of the night that Cosmo had that really bad nightmare. She awoke in her bed and the scream she released from her lungs woke up all of us, and probably half of the galaxy as well. I was out of my bed and headed down the hall quick as a flash, but for the first time in my life, someone beat me to the punch. I got to Cosmo's room and Tails was there already, cradling Cosmo in his arms. He was shushing her quietly, and she had her arms wrapped around his waist, her face dug into his chest.

My heart melted at the sight and I turned to leave, but as I exited the room, I bumped into Amy. She'd also seen the pleasant sight, and stood there with her arms crossed, looking into my eyes expectantly. Needless to say, I spent that night in Amy's bed, myself sleeping on the covers and her under them.

I smiled at the thought, still watching Tails playing and singing. In my opinion he had made a good choice in song.

"_**I held your hand through all of these years, when you still have all of me."**_

He seemed to have finished the first part of the song and retreated into the alternate notes like he had for the intro, but I couldn't help but notice how shaky the notes were becoming. It was as if his hands were shaking as he was playing. He cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone again.

"_**You used to captivate me by your resonating light, but now I'm bound by the life you left behind."**_

Cosmo had a garden hidden in the back part of the ship. She had only revealed this secret to Tails, and then to everyone else just before her death. I remember that after she died, Tails took it upon himself to care for and tend to the garden, and eventually it took over his love of tinkering as his favorite pastime. There was one day that I tried to take him out for a bit of a walk and talk, but it didn't work. He rushed back to water the garden, saying that it was my fault if any of the plants died any time soon. It hurt me… honestly it did.

Tails has since moved that garden from the back of the ship to a spot behind his house in Mystic Ruins. He cares for it daily, but he isn't as over obsessive as he used to be… not since the rest of his friends threatened to move away from him because of his habits. I admit we were being selfish, but we wanted our old Tails back.

"_**Your face, it haunt my once pleasant dreams. Your voice, it chased away all the sanity in me."**_

Tails hasn't been the same since Cosmo died. If you knew him before, then talking to him now seems like a part of him has vanished. He doesn't give off that resonating goodness as he used to. He seems so down and out of it all the time. His inventions aren't so inventive anymore. He'd even given up fighting Eggman… until one of Eggman's robots trashed Cosmo's garden.

It happened in the dead of night one night, the crash waking us all. We had been spending the night at Tails' to try to cheer him up. I swear I've never seen anyone go so crazy on anything in my life. Tails shot up out of his bed like a rocket, and was out of the house before I could get to my feet. I arrived in the back yard just in time to see Tails hit a Super form unlike any I've ever touched. His fur went coal black, his eyes turned red, and he sprouted four more tails. In the blink of an eye knocked the robot to the ground, and in another flash destroyed it, pieces flying everywhere. Tails breathed heavily, his fur fading to its normal color, and then he passed out.

"_**These wounds won't seem to heal; this pain is just too real… there's just too much that time cannot erase."**_

This song went a lot deeper than anything I had ever heard come out of Tails' bedroom. After the whole robot incident, Tails seemed to quiet down and regain his composure, even joining us in some of our old pastimes. It was good to have our old friend back, but it still seemed like part of him was missing.

"_**When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears. When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears. I held your hand through all of these years, when you still have all of me."**_

His playing seemed to become more urgent now. He was slowing down his chords and his voice began straining, as if he were losing his voice. I could have sworn I saw a tear drip from his shadow-ridden face to the wooden stage, but I couldn't be too sure. I was intently watching my friend when I felt a jab to my ribs, and I turned my head to the direction from whence it came.

The black batidna named Stealth was standing there, pointing to the stage and whispering to me. _"C'mon, let's go back up your friend. I know you know this song's punk version… I've heard you playing it on your radio."_ I'd forgotten about the guitar version of this song!

Stealth and I raced to the back of the stage as Tails began the bridge section of the song, his voice cracking more and more as the torrent of tears he struggled to contain threatened to break him.

"_**I've tried so hard to tell myself that you're gone…"**_

The guitar introduction was coming up fast, so I had to grab my guitar quick and be ready for it. Stealth's intro on the drums came up quicker, and he looked ready to go. We checked our microphones silently and adjusted them as quick as we could, given the little bit of time we had.

"… _**and though you're still with me, I've been alone for so lo…"**_

Stealth began with the drum entrance, and I followed suit on my guitar. Tails' words stopped abruptly and I saw him whip around, our eyes catching quickly. I saw his eyes begin streaming with tears, and his mouth formed a single word. _Sonic…_

I nodded, and then leaned into the microphone to sing with the next part of the song.

"_**When you cried I'd wipe away all of your tears…"**_

Tails wiped his nose quickly and turned back to the audience, resuming play on his piano. The notes were firm and strong this time, as Tails was playing with everything he had.

"_**When you screamed I'd fight away all of your fears…"**_

I've never heard anyone sing so strong in my life. Strength poured out of Tails' heart as he sang the last few words to the song, his immortal gift to the memory of Cosmo.

"_**I held your hand through all of these years, while you still have… all of me."**_

Tails let that last note linger while Stealth slowly silenced his last ringing cymbal and my last guitar chord faded out of existence. Tails ended the song with those same rising and falling notes from the intro, and as the last chord sounded from his piano he rose from his seat. He looked back to me, his eyes dry but red, smiled, and then ran offstage. I smiled in return, though Tails couldn't see it, and walked offstage with Stealth.

The entire teahouse was so quiet you could hear a pin drop. Soon one person started clapping, and then another, and then another… soon the entire teahouse was giving a standing ovation to Tails, and I was with them, clapping so hard my hands hurt.

"Way to go, buddy!"


	3. CH3: Making Up for Lost Time

"I can't believe I'm late! Oh geez…" I was rushing up the sidewalk to the teahouse. Since I lived so far from the city now, I had no way to ensure that traffic would cooperate, and today was no exception. The highway had been gridlocked because of three separate and unrelated traffic accidents.

I got up to the front door and pushed it inwards, but it wouldn't budge. "Oh, c'mon! I'm supposed to be in there!" I exclaimed. I could see that the place was packed, and I knew it would be hard to find my way in. I tried to shove the door open more, but apparently, the person blocking it was a jerk and refused to let me in. I sighed and let the door shut, then had a brainstorm. Maybe there was a back door, or a stage entrance! I gathered my things and rushed around to the other side.

I spotted the door I was looking for, standing wide open. I walked to the man blocking it, showing him my ID and smiling. He nodded, and without another word, I walked into the building. I could hear Tails singing some song on the piano, and it sounded like his voice was breaking. Maybe he was hitting puberty?

I sighed and headed towards the audience, looking for an easy way to slip into the crowd unnoticed and grab a seat. There seemed to be an empty seat right up front, so I rushed towards it and snatched it up without a second thought. I looked up towards the stage and watched Tails, his face hidden in the shadows that the lights cascaded from above him.

His song sounded so sad, and I was nearly crying. I knew exactly what he was singing about, and it would have been right to cry. Out of the corner of my eye, I saw movement on the stage, and watched as Sonic and some black bat thing readied instruments to play alongside Tails. The drums started first, and then a guitar solo as Sonic and the black thing played alongside Tails. It was a very emotional climax, and I stared as the song finally finished and the trio exited, stage right.

The place was quiet. I myself was quite shocked to find that Tails had sung such a stirring song. I rose to my feet in my seat and began clapping, and soon a few more people joined in. It wasn't long before I had the entire teahouse shaking with the ovation Tails was receiving.

It took a bit to calm the place down, and the announcer for the event stepped back up to the microphone on the stage. He looked a little flustered, as if he just recovered from two crying sessions. Who had performed before Tails?

I looked everywhere for Sonic, but he couldn't be seen. I thought perhaps he had run from me again, but I didn't know. He said he wanted me to be here tonight, and that he had a special presentation for me when he had completed his song. It wasn't like Sonic to be so secretive, at least not to me. I had gotten used to him running from me so much, and since he admitted that my constant nagging and the wish I had to be married to him was getting on his nerves, I had quit insisting so much.

The announcer surveyed the crowd, then cleared his throat and leaned into the microphone.

"It seems like this place is full of tear-jerkers tonight. That was some performance from Tails. Next up is Sonic the Hedgehog, who is playing a rock version of some popular country song. He requested that I not reveal the name of the song, so I won't." He cleared his throat again and smiled, bowing and backing out of the way as the curtain rose.

There sat Sonic on a wooden barstool, his blue electric guitar sitting in his lap. He had a microphone near him, and he tapped it a couple times to test for sound strength. Satisfied, he leaned into the microphone to give an intro.

"Hey. You all know me as Sonic, so there's no reason to give you a general introduction. This song is originally by a country group called Rascal Flatts, and I felt I could give one of their songs a nice rock sound. So… enjoy."

Sonic settled back, and I leaned forward, balling my hands into fists and placing my chin on them. There seemed to be something different about him… something foreign to his usual demeanor. He seemed to have shed the cocky attitude everyone knew him for, and had adopted this gentle tone instead. Personally, I liked it.

Sonic gave a couple strums on the guitar to warm the strings, and then silenced the ringing notes before starting the song with a nice power chord. He then leaned into the mic and began the song.

"_**I can take the rain on the roof of this empty house, that don't bother me."**_

It was an interesting sound; I'd have to give him that. He was playing the electric guitar with a sense of professionalism and skill I hadn't thought him capable, and his singing voice was that of a rock singer with a country twang. It sounded like he was a countrified Eddie Van Halen. His eyes seemed to be searching the crowd, and for some reason I decided to hide my eyes so that if he did find me, our eyes wouldn't lock. Perhaps I thought that just looking into his eyes could interrupt his playing.

"_**I can take a few tears now and then and just let 'em out."**_

Pfft. Right. I had never heard of Sonic crying. I had once believed that he had some accident in his earlier years of fighting tyranny that got rid of his ability to cry. Sometimes he didn't know how to empathize with anyone. Tears were impossible for that hedgehog.

"_**I'm not afraid to cry every once in a while even though goin' on with you gone still upsets me. There are days every now and again I pretend I'm okay, but that's not what gets me."**_

Sonic seemed to be falling into a groove with this song… as if the lyrics were saying what he felt in his heart. In all my years of knowing him, from the first time I met him on Tiny Planet until now, I had never once heard him say what was truly on his mind or on his heart.

I'm not saying that admitting to me that he loves me and wants to marry me is hiding there. I have come to realize that perhaps I have been a little too forward with him sometimes, and that I scared him off.

I watched him from my front row seat, my hands placed on my knees, and for the first time in my life I would not have known what to say if he were to ask me how I was.

"_**What hurts the most, was being so close and having so much to say, and watching you walk away."**_

I wondered to myself about what exactly he was singing. I knew that sometime tonight our friend Carbine was to be singing about heartbreak, and Tails' song had been about him mourning Cosmo, but I was lost on Sonic. Maybe he was singing about that Sally Acorn girl?

"_**And never knowin' what could've been, and not seeing that lovin' you is what I was trying to do."**_

Yeah… he was singing about Sally. At one time, I was jealous of their relationship, but I had grown to accept it. It had come as a great shock to me to hear that the two of them had parted ways. A part of me was overjoyed, and I was thinking that now I could have Sonic all for myself, but another part of me was screaming that I was wrong, and that I should try to get them back together.

I continued to watch Sonic's performance, and as I gazed upon his movements, I felt a stirring within myself. A tear leaked from my right eye and started its journey down my cheek. I felt like crying. I didn't know why I was so upset, but I figured it had to be jealousy. Yeah, I was jealous that Sonic was singing about Sally and not me. I had moved away from the city to get away from him and give him the space he kept saying he so desperately needed.

"_**It's hard to deal with the pain of losing you everywhere I go, but I'm doing it… It's hard to force that smile when I see all those friends and I'm alone."**_

Aw, poor Sonic… all of your friends are still there. At least… the ones you care about, anyway. Sometimes I felt like he never really cared for me, and that saving me was just part of his job. Sometimes I felt like saving me was a recreational sport for him, and he sat back and waited for the next capture so that he could do it again. I knew in my heart that I was dead wrong for thinking this way, but I couldn't help it, you know? I cared so deeply for him and he just brushed me to the side and ran off without another word.

"_**Still harder getting up, getting dressed, living with this regret. But I know if I could do it over…"**_

_If you could do it over you'd probably run before I got to you, _I thought. I mentally scolded myself for that one.

"_**I would straight give away, show the words that I say in my heart, that I'd left unspoken."**_

He seemed in so much pain singing this song. I watched him as his eyes closed and he dissolved into the singer role he was adopting. There was definitely more to this cocky blue hedgehog than I had ever realized.

Something was bothering me, though, and as I thought about it, I lowered my head and my gaze. If he was singing this song about Sally, then why the hell had he specifically asked me to be there?

I gazed up to him again, and instantly our eyes locked. He had been staring at my seat and now here we were, staring at each other. There were bits of tears in his eyes and he smiled at me.

"_**What hurts the most was being so close, and having so much to say, and watching you walk away. And never knowin' what could've been, and not seeing that loving you is what I was trying to do."**_

That time I felt like he was singing to me. Both of my eyes began watering and I broke our gaze to look down away from the stage. Sonic went into a solo with his guitar and it sounded cool, especially with this current song being so much of a heartbreaker.

It was at this point in the song that the announcer came to my seat and asked that I accompany him to the stage. It was weird to have been asked in the middle of Sonic's performance to leave, but I acknowledged the man and followed him. We got up to the stage and I stood off to the back, behind the curtain somewhat, watching Sonic's back and listening to the last bit of his song from here.

"_**What hurts the most is being so close."**_

This is where Sonic added his rock to the song. The words 'so close' were almost screamed into the mic in a metal or grunge kind of way. I couldn't see his face, but I knew his eyes were closed now.

"_**And having so much to say, and watching you walk away."**_

Again, the return of the metal grunge, this time the victim being the word 'away.' I knew the original song, and though it was an interesting sound, the way Sonic was singing it definitely did it justice.

"_**And never knowin' what could've been… and not seeing that loving you, oohhhh oh ohhh, not seeing that loving you… is what I was trying to do. That's what I was trying to do."**_

Sonic finished the song with a few more power chords, then took his guitar by the neck and stood. The audience began clapping, but Sonic held up his hands for silence. He adjusted the mic to his height, and then leaned into it once more.

"Thank you so much for listening. I would like to introduce, onto the stage, a miss Amy Rose."

I guess that was my cue for stepping out into the light, because the audience began clapping very loud. I stepped over to Sonic and whispered fiercely into his ear. _"Sonic, what the hell are you doing?"_

Sonic merely grinned and handed his guitar off to someone, probably that announcer guy. Then he turned back to me, his eyes sparkling. "Amy, I've never been good at speaking what's on my heart, you know that. It's taken me weeks to prepare what I want to say right now, but now I have forgotten it all. I guess I just have to wing it."

I admit my jaw fell open. If this… if this was what I thought it was… then that song…

"Amy Rose… from the minute I rescued you from Tiny Planet, I liked you. I know I ran away a lot, and didn't like to talk to you much about anything, but that was because I was trying to hide my feelings. I felt like I wasn't supposed to like you. But I've been thinking so much and now it seems logical, so…"

Sonic dropped to one knee, and instantly my hands covered my mouth. He pulled out a ring box from his quills, opened it and handed it to me, opened forward. Inside the box was the most beautiful ring I've ever seen in my life. It was a platinum ring, inset with a bit of some aqua gem that sparkled like Chaos.

"Amy Rose, will you marry me?"

Being who I was, I did what any other respectable woman would have done in my position. I fainted.


	4. CH4: Crazy Bitch

"Let's give it up for Sonic!"

There was a smattering of applause here and there. I personally think the announcer guy was trying to be a bit too enthusiastic about this just to get the crowd to seem entertained. Not that I blamed him. Still, I was more inclined to take the side of the audience. Why the hell was I even here?

Oh yeah. Because that echidna told me not to come.

Knuckles had a lot of nerve sometimes. I'm Rouge! I'm the greatest jewel thief that ever lived! And if that rodent thought that I was going to take orders from someone more gullible than Adam Sandler's character from Mr. Deeds, then he's got another think coming.

This place was packed! I couldn't find a seat to sit in, and the rafters looked filthy. Rather than ruin my nice new dress, I decided to be content to stand in the back.

The announcer was now introducing the next act, I think. I couldn't tell, though, because of just how many people were in front of me, complaining about how boring this show was. I was inclined to agree, and probably would have if I hadn't already signed up to participate (secretly, of course!).

"Hey," I said, sticking my head into their little group, "be quiet! I wanna know who's up next!"

All their mouths quickly shut, and I even caught one of them staring down my dress as I poked my head into their group. For that one moment, I regretted wearing it.

"S- uh, sorry ma'am." The one that spoke… he was apparently the leader of the group. He nudged his friends in the ribs and they all nodded and shut up.

I looked up to the stage, but the announcer had disappeared. In his place stood… Knuckles.

I didn't even know that Knuckles could sing, much less play an instrument, but here he was up on stage, with the Chaotix as his band. I saw much of the audience plug their ears, but I didn't think there'd be much need for that. I'd heard the Chaotix practicing some music recently while on Angel Island, but I hadn't known Knuckles was with them… he had always been out taking care of the Chao gardens at the times I heard-

My, my, my. Knuckles, you old dog. You pulled a fast one over my eyes!

"So… mostly this song is for fun. Mostly. I hope you all in the audience like it."

His voice… his voice sounded strong, sure. He sounded like the man I wanted him to be. I often wondered why he didn't sound like that when I was around or when he wasn't angry. I guessed maybe it was because I was kind of intimidating to him. He was always kinda sheepish around me when he wasn't angry at me for teasing him.

The band behind him started up the music. I admit, it wasn't a song I was familiar with. There was a good heavy guitar intro, and plenty of heavy drums, and people were uncovering their ears gradually as it looked like the windows were staying in place. I looked over the audience, and some were even bobbing their heads with what little music had started playing… obviously this was a popular song.

That… bat-echidna thing looked like he was getting sick, though.

I looked up at the stage to see Knuckles put the microphone up to his mouth to sing.

"_**My girlfriend's a dick magnet, my girlfriend's gotta have it.**_

_**She's hot, can't stop, up on stage doing shots; **_

_**tip the man he'll ring the bell, get her drunk she'll scream like hell."**_

Oh. My. God.

No.

I could feel my blood begin to boil.

"_**Dirty girl, getting' down, dance with guys from outta town;**_

_**Grab her ass, actin' tough, mess with her she'll fuck you up.**_

_**No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned,**_

_**But she's coming back to my place tonight!"**_

I swear, Knux was acting for it. I was clenching my fists, and I probably looked mad as hell, because the group of kids that I had shushed before were all cowering on the floor.

_"**She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat,**_

_**She likes to pull me hair when I make her grind her teeth.**_

_**I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end,**_

_**You know what she is, no doubt about it:**_

_**She's a BAD, BAD GIRLFRIEND!"**_

There was a guitar break here, and as I looked out over the crowd, my vision slowly faded to red. They were all laughing! LAUGHING! I mean, this was Knuckles singing! And everybody around knew Knuckles and I were dating, so in essence they were all laughing at me! I was gonna kill him!

I spotted that bat thing get up from the crowd. He seriously looked like he was going to vomit. I wondered briefly why he wasn't on the floor laughing like the rest of the crowd, and then I remembered when I met him. He was supposed to be my child from the future… so in hearing this song and knowing about the future match-up… yeah. I guess the mental image would be too much for me if I were in his shoes. Granted, I was too angry to think coherently right then. My fists were clenched and I started to make my way to the stage to beat the life and will out of the lead singer.

"_**Red thong, party's on, love this song, sing along.**_

_**Come together, leave alone. 'See you later,' back at home.**_

_**No one really knows if she's drunk or if she's stoned,**_

_**But she's coming back to my place tonight! I say**_

_**No one really knows just how far she's gonna go**_

_**But I'm gonna find out later tonight!"**_

Not if I kick your ass now you won't, rodent. Now I see why he didn't want me to be here tonight…

I was in a blind rage. I was almost up to the stage, even, the crowd parting to let me through, seeing just how extremely pissed I was. Out of the corner of my eye, I could see Stealth (that was his name… I couldn't remember until now) bent over, and sounds of retching were reaching my ears over the blasphemous music.

"_**She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat.**_

_**She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth.**_

_**I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end,**_

_**You know what she is, no doubt about it:**_

_**She's a BAD, BAD GIRLFRIEND!"**_

I expected another guitar break, maybe enough that he would notice me standing near the stage, my fists clenched and ready to destroy his very existence. Instead, he continued…

"_**It doesn't take her long to make things right,**_

_**It doesn't make her wrong to have the time of her life…**_

_**The time of her liiiiiffffeee."**_

There was the guitar break I was looking for. He finally looked down at the side of the stage, right at me. I saw the smile fade off his face, and I think he even went white there for a minute. I guess he didn't really think he life mattered much anymore, because he continued from there, hopping onto the back of the stage and climbing up to the rafters to hang and sing from there.

"_**My girlfriend's a dick magnet… my girlfriend's gotta have it!"**_

Oh, I had to have it, alright. I had to have it in my hands so I could snap it in half. He would be a new virgin after I got a hold of him. I started to step up on stage after him when I vaguely felt hands pushing and holding me back. I looked around and spotted that Carbine guy holding onto me, his arms around mine and his feet planted, trying to hold me back from killing the rodent. Tails had wrapped himself around my legs, and Sonic was back from comforting Amy. He had his hands on my chest (MY CHEST!) pushing me back. And even with these three holding me, I was slowly inching forwards.

Then Knux sprang into singing again. I had almost forgotten about his singing!

"_**She's a gold digger, now you figure out it's over, pull the trigger;**_

_**Future's finished, there it went.**_

_**Savings' gone, the money spent.**_

_**I look around and all I see is no good, bad and ugly,**_

_**Guys, she fit and fixed to be the ex-Miss Guardian!"**_

The ex? THE EX?

"I'm the WHAT?" I was trying to get the players to stop the music, but I guess my screech was a bit too high pitched… I heard a lot of dogs start barking after I let loose my vocal fury, though.

"_**She likes to shake her ass, she grinds it to the beat.**_

_**She likes to pull my hair when I make her grind her teeth."**_

I wrenched myself free from the grips of the three males holding me back, and in an instant, my wings were free from the confines of my dress. Lucky for me I wore my Riders' jumpsuit underneath… unluckily for him, I was flying straight for his big head, my foot ready to kick him as hard as I could.

"_**I like to strip her down, she's naughty to the end,**_

_**You know what she is, no doubt about it:**_

_**She's a BAD, BAD GIRLFRIEND!"**_

I flew right at him, spun in mid air, and caught him in the chest with the toe of my boot. I watched with satisfaction as he lost all the air in his lungs, his grip on the rafters slipped, and he fell to the stage… but he got one last line in.

"_**She's a BAD, BAD GIRLFR- OOF!"**_

The next few minutes were a blur of blood, cuss words, and security hauling me out of the teahouse. Knuckles is lucky to be alive… and so is the audience. How dare they laugh at me!


	5. CH5: Time to Let Go

'_He deserved that,' _I'd thought to myself as both EMT and security personnel left the building. The beating that the red echidna had received at the hands of his girlfriend was fierce, to say the least. The effect of the beat down on the crowd was entertaining as well, and had brought a much needed smile to my face.

I didn't smile so much anymore. I needed release from this sadness that threatened to rip my body and soul apart, but nobody would listen to me. But tonight… tonight I would change all that. Tonight I would release this sadness, perhaps even come to grips with myself. It was time to let go.

The original song I had planned… I wouldn't be able to perform that song tonight. I wasn't in an Atreyu mood, and besides, my original guitarist was sick and couldn't play. I'd have to sing via synth and reverb, which was fine by me.

I couldn't ask Sonic to play for me… that faker would no doubt tell me no. The batidna had agreed to play, though, and for that I was grateful.

My nerves were shot. I was ready, but I wasn't ready. The words kept repeating themselves in my head, and I made sure not to mix them up. The last thing I needed to do was stumble over the words that would finally give my soul some peace.

I was just behind the curtain, waiting for the emcee to give me the introduction. There was a crew cleaning up the blood from the stage, so I had a little time to try to calm my nerves.

A tap on my shoulder caused me to turn around, and I saw Sonic and Stealth standing behind me. Stealth didn't have anything to say, but the faker did.

"Stealth told me you needed a guitarist. I'm willing to play for you."

I merely blinked at him. I guess there was shock registered on my face, because he reached out and patted me on the shoulder.

"Just because me and you fought at one time, it doesn't mean I'll always be your enemy. People change."

I cleared my throat, trying to get the lump out of it. "… thank you, Sonic." I paused, fearing my voice would shake and give away my emotion before it was time. "Did Stealth tell you what the song was?"

Sonic nodded. "It's different from what's on the program."

I turned from him and faced the curtain. "This song has more meaning. It can do more for my soul."

He didn't say anything in reply, but I could feel that he understood what I was saying. The fact that he understood was comfort enough. I needed nobody's pity.

On the other side of the curtain, I could hear the emcee adjusting the microphone. The crew had finished cleaning, I guess. The man cleared his throat and tapped the mic to get the attention of the crowd.

"Well, that was… er, interesting. Next up, we have Shadow the hedgehog performing Atreyu's song Honor. Let's give him a round of applause!"

The crowd roared its applause and the curtain rolled back, revealing the three of us just standing there. I calmed my shakes with a deep breath, then approached the microphone.

"I'm Shadow the hedgehog." My voice came out unsteady, and very much unlike me. I cleared my throat and spoke again. "I know the itinerary says I'm supposed to perform some Atreyu for you tonight, but I feel that such a performance wouldn't do me the kind of justice I need."

I could see the people in the crowd looking at each other, and a low murmur began to get louder. Like they couldn't believe I had changed my mind or something. I cleared my throat to quiet them, then took a deep breath while looking at the floor. I didn't know if I could do it.

I took another deep breath and looked out into the crowd. The audience's eyes stared back at me, waiting for the music. I mustered as much of a smile as I could get, then turned to Sonic and Stealth, signaling that they could begin playing.

Sonic's fingers traveled over the strings, playing notes and chords in a controlled rhythm I didn't know he had. I had only ever heard the song played with scratches and synths, so hearing a plain guitar/drums combo was very different. Still, the tune was recognizable, and I could easily distinguish when I was supposed to enter, and what words I was supposed to sing.

As I took my final deep breath to begin singing, my mind wandered to the memories I still held of the young girl for which I was singing. _'Maria, this one's for you.'_

"**When this began, I had nothing to say and I'd get lost in the nothingness inside of me/I was confused, and I let it all out to find that I'm not the only person with these things in mind inside of me…**"

I needn't have worried so much. The music flowed, and the words flowed. The emotion flowed into the words from my soul, and my eyes closed as I spoke and rapped. I was releasing myself.

"**But all the vacancy the words revealed is the only real thing that I've got left to feel/Nothing to lose, just stuck hollow and alone/And the fault is my own, and the fault is my own…**"

Memories started to pour into my mind while my eyes were closed. Specifically memories of the final run from the G.U.N. soldiers while I tried to save Maria, but I knew eventually more memories would find me.

Still, the chorus of this song would release most of the pain I felt inside. Pain I still felt for failing to save Maria's life that fateful night.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel, what I thought was never real, I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long/I wanna heal, I wanna feel, like I'm close to something real, I wanna find something I've wanted all along… somewhere I belong…**"

I couldn't help it. I could feel the tears escaping from my eyes as I sang. More than likely this would be the first time anyone in the audience had even heard of me crying. They didn't understand the amount of pain I held in my heart.

I blamed myself for living all these years. I blamed myself for letting her die. I blamed myself for the robot clones that Eggman had created from me, and for the near destruction of the planet in the Black Doom attack.

Such pain is hard to hold onto for so many years. Every day I felt as if my heart died a little. Every night I struggled to sleep, wanting to die as I slept, and yet wanting to live, to carry on _her_ legacy. I was finally done with such pain, and I wanted it to end.

"**And I've got nothing to say, I can't believe I didn't fall right down on my face, I was confused/looking everywhere only to find that it's not the way I had imagined it all in my mind…**"

The way it all was in my mind. I continue to misunderstand and confuse things to this day. Even before I started singing. I had refused to go to Sonic for help in playing this song because I had thought he would have refused. I continue to call him a faker, and yet… _I _seem to be the one who's the fake.

The words continued to flow from my mouth and from my heart. Of course, they flowed faster than I could explain the memories attached to them. Still, I consider myself lucky to even still _have_ memories.

"**What do I have but negativity when I can't justify the way everyone is looking at me/just stuck, hollow and alone, and the fault is my own, and the fault is my own…**"

I was tired of the looks, tired of the suspicion. I was tired of the fact that every time Eggman attacked, the people would wonder whose side I was on. I had helped save the planet from destruction during the ARK incident, and still people second-guessed my morals.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real, I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long/I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real, I wanna find something I've wanted all along… somewhere I belong…**"

I couldn't hold back the dam anymore. I was crying, angry with myself for holding this in so long. I began screaming the lyrics instead of just singing them, and still it fit.

"**I will never know myself unless I do this on my own, and I will never feel anything else until my wounds are healed! I will never be anything 'til I break away from me… I will break away, I'll find myself today!**"

I wanted the song to end right there, but I had a bit more to sing. I wanted the memories to end, and the tears to stop. I wanted the sorrow to leave me, so that I could start fresh and new, with memories of Maria being something that lived in the back of my mind, no longer controlling my life.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel what I thought was never real; I wanna let go of the pain I've held so long!**"

I was still screaming the lyrics. I wouldn't have been able to explain why if anyone had ever asked… it just seemed to fit the moment.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm close to something real; I wanna find something I've wanted all along! Somewhere I belong!**"

Maybe that's all I really needed. Somewhere where I felt that I fit. More than family and friends, more than opportunity and responsibility. More than love, even.

It hurt so much to sing these words, to know that I was taking the stitches out of my wound by hand and allowing my natural healing processes to take over. Whether the wound festered, or healed completely, was up to me.

"**I wanna heal, I wanna feel like I'm somewhere I belong! Somewhere I belong!**"

That was it… I had done all I could to release the pain I held, and now hopefully the wound could heal and I could start a new life… have a new love…

I wiped my eyes with the back of my arm and replaced the microphone. Even as the audience recovered from their shock and began to clap, I reached into my dead space and retrieved my emerald. I pictured the one place that I could find solace, but before I could mutter the two magic words that might take me there, I felt arms wrap around my torso, a head on my shoulder.

"You're always welcome here, Shadow," I heard whispered into my ear. "Whether you believe it or not, you belong here."

It was Sonic! He released me from his embrace, and I turned, looking him dead in the eyes… eyes that seemed to be filled to the brim with tears. Tears of sympathy, brotherhood, compassion. I couldn't stop myself from smiling, then closed my eyes and muttered those two words that I needed most.

"Chaos Control!"

Now, I stand here aboard the ARK, looking down upon the earth. I'm done mourning for you, Maria… please, live happily in heaven, and I'll do my best so maybe one day I'll be able to join you there.

Sincerely,

Shadow


	6. CH6: Hate to Be Ignored

"I don't know if I can do this now, mom."

I was nervous, no doubt. My mom was here, and I was up next, and my song was another one of those heartbreakers. I'd never been through anything like this.

What was worse was that my ex was here, and he had performed first, and I had an inkling that the song was about me. I didn't want to go onstage and hurt him even more.

"Honey, you'll be fine," she said, saying exactly what I knew she'd say.

I didn't need a smooth-over that's-what-I'm-gonna-say-because-I'm-a-parent-and-parents-know-best answer. She didn't know everything that went on in my life now. She had no idea that I had broken up earlier that day, and had no idea that I was crushing on someone else. If she had known, she probably would have scolded me for it.

Mom gave me a kiss on the cheek and a pat on the head, then turned and started for her seat. She had come backstage to see how I was doing, and had found me a nervous wreck. She left me a nervous wreck too, but I was able to hide it until she was gone. I really didn't want to perform, but I had to. I never quit on anything once I put my mind to it.

Plus… _he_ was here.

I took a deep breath and approached the curtain to peek out and see how far along the emcee was 'til it was my turn to sing. I had in my hand a simple acoustic guitar… I didn't know how to play much, and the song I was going to sing was the only one I knew how to play confidently and well.

I could see the crowd growing restless. Apparently, Shadow had disappeared after his song, and the emcee had no idea about Chaos Control, so they were trying to find him. I guess they were taking longer than the crowd wanted them to take. I was glad for it, though, because it gave me a chance to try to calm my restless nerves.

After a few minutes, I watched the emcee come on stage and take the mic. I took a deep breath and waited for the introduction.

"Ladies and gentlemen, thank you for waiting. While we still have no clue where Shadow disappeared to, we have decided that we've stalled long enough. Next to perform is miss Cream. I'd tell you what she's singing, but we seem to have forgotten to write it down."

I took another deep breath and watched the curtain roll back. The bar needed oil, because it was squeaking, but then _I_ may have been the only one able to hear it. At any rate, once the curtain was rolled back, the emcee left the stage, then returned with a chair so that I could sit while I played.

My hands were shaking so much. I stood there like an idiot for a minute willing my legs to move, but afraid of them collapsing from underneath me. Eventually, someone began clapping in the audience, and it gave me courage. I walked forward slowly and sat down on the chair, adjusting the mic to an appropriate height and testing my guitar's tuning.

Eventually I cleared my throat and gave my introduction. "M-my name is, um, Cream the Rabbit. Usually my best friend Cheese would be with me today, but he's been sick for the past week and hasn't been able to come out with me. Anyway, the song I'm singing tonight is 'Teardrops on My Guitar,' a country song by Taylor Swift. I hope you enjoy it."

I gave a single stroke over the strings the clear the air, give the crowd a chance to settle down and get quiet, and to clear my thoughts. Then I began playing the opening to the song, my fingers trailing over the strings with an expertise I didn't know I had. I almost felt possessed.

Still, my nerves were too much for me to handle and my playing eventually faded. All was quiet, and I looked at the floor. _"I… I don't know if I can do this.."_ I whispered to myself, and gasped when I noticed my whisper was caught by the microphone.

"You can do it, Cream!"

I recognized the voice. I looked up, seeing Carbine standing in the crowd. I watched him start clapping, and the rest of the crowd joined in, trying to give me courage. I don't know why Carbine did it, or even why he was trying to help me when I so unceremoniously dropped him earlier that day. Maybe he was just trying to stay friends, like I had asked.

I cleared my throat again, and ran my fingers over the strings again. The clapping helped a lot, because now I was playing with full intention of singing. I closed my eyes, and I could feel tears already starting to form as I ran the words over and over, waiting for the end of the intro and where I was to lift my voice. It came quicker than I anticipated, and I almost missed it.

"_**Dude looks at me, I fake a smile so he won't see/**_

_**That I want and I'm needing everything that we should be."**_

Already my voice began to break. I was afraid I was going to start crying. It hurt to sing these words. It hurt me because I know how much it was going to hurt Carbine in the end. I kept my eyes closed as I sang, to avoid catching his eye.

"_**I'll bet she's beautiful, that girl he talks about.**_

_**And she's got everything that I have to live without."**_

What hurt the most about this song tonight, though, is the girl that he talks about so much, that he devotes his life to, is dead and gone. I was jealous of a dead girl. It hurt me beyond anything I had ever felt to know that I was shallow enough to be jealous of a corpse.

"_**Dude talks to me, I laugh 'cause it's so damn funny/**_

_**That I can't even see anyone when he's with me."**_

Most of the time, when we're occupying the same room, I can't see anyone else or pay attention to anyone else because he's all I want.

"_**He says he's so in love, he's finally got it right.**_

_**I wonder if he knows he's all I think about at night."**_

I couldn't sleep at night anymore without dreaming about him. My every waking thought was devoted to his image, consumed by the devotion I'd show to him that I was unable to give to Carbine. I felt guilty that I had kept up the relationship with Carbine for so long after succumbing to a crush on Tails. I felt dirty.

"_**He's the reason for these teardrops on my guitar.**_

_**The only reason I keep wishing on a wishing star.**_

_**He's the song I keep singing in the car, don't know why I do…"**_

I played an interlude there that wasn't included in the original song. It was mainly to lengthen a short song, but also to try to get a hold on the tears and emotion that threatened to overtake me. I hadn't felt so sad since… well, since the events with Emerl.

Emerl… I began to realize that his devotion to her was just like my devotion to Emerl… that the pain he felt by her loss wasn't the same, but pretty damned close. The only difference between the two was that as a robot, I thought that Emerl was unable to love me back.

"_**He walks by me, can he tell that I can't breathe?**_

_**And there he goes, so perfectly, the kind of flawless I wish I could be."**_

I couldn't stop the tears then. I was overwhelmed by feelings of guilt, of hate, of shame, of loss. I tried to not let the crying interfere with my playing, but as the tears came I couldn't help but bow my head towards my guitar. Tears kept falling, and every now and then an odd note would play as a drop hit a string.

It hurt, because the next part of the verse felt so mean in the current situation.

"_**She'd better hold him tight, give him all her love.**_

_**Look in those beautiful eyes and know she's lucky 'cause…"**_

She's… she's not lucky. She's dead. She's dead and gone and all he has left of her is her memory and her garden. And it hurt to know that he would care more for her memory and her garden than for the completeness that I could show him. It hurt to know that I gave up a caring and loving boyfriend to chase two-tailed dreams.

"_**He's the reason for these teardrops on my guitar.**_

_**The only reason I keep wishing on a whishing star.**_

_**He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do…"**_

Here I played out the main musical interlude that was actually written in the song. I was almost sobbing, I was crying so hard. I didn't know how I could hold so many tears back. And now, I didn't know if I could finish the song. I didn't know if I could finish it the way I had planned to finish it. I felt so ashamed to be playing.

I don't know why I chose then to lift my head and open my eyes, but I did. I looked out over the crowd, tears still spilling from my eyes, and I caught three pairs of eyes at once. First, there was my mother. Her own eyes were wet, and she was staring at me wordlessly. It seems the song had told her all she needed to know. There was a sort of pain behind her eyes that I had never received from her before…

Then there was Carbine. The eyes I didn't want to meet, I still met. And I was surprised by what they held. The guy wasn't crying… it seemed his own song had taken his reserve of tears and spilled them, and he hadn't filled it back up yet. But I could see the understanding. He was standing in the crowd… the only one standing in the crowd. When our eyes caught, he smiled, and it seemed to give me strength.

Finally, I caught… _his_ eye. He seemed to be crying just as hard as I was, though his pain felt different. It wasn't the usual suffering I saw in his eye whenever I managed to look him in it. It wasn't a pain devoted to the loss of someone. It was something more…

"_**So I drive home alone, as I turn out the light,**_

_**I'll put his picture down and maybe get some sleep tonight…"**_

As I started singing I looked away from the crowd again. I couldn't stand being stared at the way I was. Especially by my mother. Now, more than ever, I felt like I had let her down. I felt like I had forsaken her trust in me.

"_**He's the reason for the teardrops on my guitar.**_

_**The only one who's got enough of me to break my heart.**_

_**He's the song in the car I keep singing, don't know why I do…"**_

My fingers were fumbling the chords now. I was so near the end of the song, and had been crying so hard for so long, that my hands were shaking. I took a final deep breathe, a final attempt to try to kill my damned nerves, and pushed on, with only three or four lines left.

"_**He's the time taken up, but there's never enough.**_

_**And he's all that I need to fall into…"**_

If I could break this damned guitar and just collapse into a sobbing mess in his arms, I'd be happy and would feel like this night would be worth something. But I really couldn't see anything like that happening. What was worse, I was now afraid of how he felt about me… a feeling I hadn't foreseen when I signed up for tonight. I didn't think my own shame would make me afraid of him.

Now came the ending I had worked so hard on… and made up my mind to go ahead and sing it the way I had planned to sing it.

"_**Tails looks at me…**_

_**I fake a smile so he won't see…"**_

My fingers finally allowed my clumsy music to fade, and I looked at the crowd. They seemed silent, uncertain. I rose from the chair and took my guitar in hand, turned, and ran behind the curtain. They must have rolled it back into place once I had taken the stage.

Once behind the curtain, I set my guitar off to the side and collapsed on the ground on the spot. I couldn't take it anymore. I curled into a ball and cried just as hard as I had been on stage, except now I allowed myself to really break, to sob as loudly as I wanted into my arms.

I must have been back there crying for at least five minutes before I felt a calming hand on my shoulder. I looked up into the eyes of both Carbine and Tails. I noticed my mother standing off to the side, more pity in her eyes now than anger or sadness.

Carbine offered me his hand and I took it, and he lifted me into a seated position, smiling at me. Then both he and Tails knelt. Both sets of eyes were red and puffy, as if they had both been crying. Tears continued to flow from me, too, but I wasn't sobbing as hard as I had been just minutes before.

Taking a handkerchief, Carbine wiped the tears from my eyes. He gave me the cloth, then cleared his throat. But it was Tails that spoke first.

"I'm sorry," he began. "I'm sorry that I've been so wrapped up in the memory of Cosmo that I didn't notice my friends. I'm sorry I haven't noticed you. Carbine told me about you two earlier today, but I didn't think much of it at the time…" His voice trailed off and he looked at the floor.

I wasn't registering much of what he was saying, but it stuck out in my mind that Carbine had told him about us. Or, rather, no longer 'us.' I looked at Carbine pleadingly, expecting some outburst of anger from him, some kind of portrayal of the betrayal he no doubt felt by me. But I couldn't find it.

"I only want you to be happy, Cream. That's all I ever wanted," he said, as I tried to search his face for the feelings.

I began crying hard again, and threw myself into Tails' arms, hugging him tight. Outside, I could hear Rouge beginning her song, but right now most of my attention was devoted to the kitsune of my dreams. Tails held me as I cried, and Carbine rubbed my back.

I cried for a while, but eventually the tears ran out. I sniffled and sniffed as best I could, and let go of Tails, his fur wet with saline. Carbine patted my head like he used to, then stood and walked back out to the main auditorium, and my mother came forward. It was talking to her that I dreaded most of all.

"Honey… I wish you wouldn't hold things like this back from me," she started. "I know you're getting older and are almost at an independent age, but that doesn't mean you can't talk to me." She took my hands in her, then kissed me on the cheek. "I've invited Tails over for dinner tonight, after this show. I invited Carbine, too, but he said he had other plans… he just wants you to be happy, dear. Whatever you choose."

She stood and walked away, and I just watched her. As she rounded the corner, I turned my eyes to Tails. I cleared my throat as best I could, then whispered my final thoughts into his ear.

"I'd be happy only if I can make you happy."

He didn't say anything, merely nodded. That was all I needed.


	7. CH7: A Dedication

"Lots of tearjerkers tonight, that's for sure," the emcee declared as he took the stage once again. The young rabbit named Cream had run off the stage, and I could just barely make out the sound of her crying behind the curtain. Poor girl. Something was definitely on her mind as she sang tonight; you could see it in her eyes.

It seemed like there was something on everyone's mind tonight as they sang. That black hedgehog that had disappeared at the end of his song, he seemed to be hurting as he sang. He'd said something about the song he was scheduled to sing wouldn't do his soul justice. That ex-soldier person even looked cried. And even though I'm from a different dimension, I'm using tonight in the same way nearly everyone else is: to release pain from my heart, and to let people know what's going on in my head.

The program said that bat Rouge was up next. After her, I still had to wait through two more songs before I got my chance. There had been hints that this whole shindig tonight was a contest, but I surely hoped that there weren't any judges, and that nobody was going to up to that rumor.

I guess this was one of those rare nights where nobody had to worry about emeralds being stolen, because just about every hero and heroine from this dimension was here. I'd heard snippets of conversation all around this teahouse that the Babylon Rogues were supposed to be here, but they canceled at the last minute because of travel difficulty, and Jet was having family troubles.

'_The emcee is taking a long time to announce the next performer,'_ I was thinking, but the emcee interrupted my thoughts by introducing the next performer.

"Okay, next up is miss Rouge the Bat, singing Skillet's 'The Older I Get.' Give her a hand, eh?" The emcee put the microphone on its stand and clapped, and I, as well as most of the crowd, joined in. This night was turning out to be more fun than most of us had anticipated.

As we clapped, we watched Rouge take the stage, followed timidly by the same band that had backed the red echidna. I could understand why they were so timid. That very same bat had beat the crap out of their lead singer when it was his turn to sing. I was amazed security had even let her back into the building.

"Hi… um, sorry about the attack earlier, you guys," she started out with. "Knuckles will be okay, and he should be back among us later tonight."

I wondered if she had gone to visit him. I could tell his particular song had been one of those joke songs; a song with the intent of loosening up a crowd and bringing in some unexpected laughter. Perhaps Rouge didn't see that when she saw him perform? She looked genuinely sorry.

"I… I realize now that his song was a joke," she was saying. "He explained everything to me… I visited him in the ambulance. He was refusing to go to the hospital before he talked to me."

So the echidna _wasn't_ in the hospital? He was one tough mutha- yeah. You get the picture.

"So… um… I'm, uh, still in shock and stuff. I'll tell you after the song. This song is dedicated to my mother, who I wish was here tonight. There are so many things that I wish I could say to her, to apologize for all the things I put her through growing up."

A song dedication actually voiced before the song, huh? That was a first for the night. I watched Rouge take a deep breath, then look back at the band. The lead guitarist, a very large croc, swallowed, then nodded to the rest of the band, which consisted of a bee (on drums), a chameleon (on bass), and an armadillo (on backup vocals). They played alright on the hard rocking song, but if this were a dedication, then I figured it'd be slower. I didn't know whether to wait for the music, or to plug my ears like a lot of the crowd was doing, much like they had done the first time this crazy looking band had played.

I decided on the former, and waited for the music to start before making my judgment. I'm glad I waited. There was a string of notes played before the actual first chord of the song, giving the song a more Latin sound than the original had. At least, that's what I thought. I'd never heard the original.

I noticed Rouge had closed her eyes. Perhaps feeling the beat of the music, the throb of power that was passing through her body? Or maybe she was keeping back tears. Everyone seemed to be doing that tonight, save for that Knuckles guy.

She broke into song sooner than I expected. Probably where the song started, actually. I expected a longer intro, something more reminiscent of most dedication songs. Her voice was strong, though a tad unsteady, and she sang with a southern twang, as if she listened to mostly country songs and was starting to take on the southern accent. I myself wasn't a big fan of country music, so both Sonic's and Cream's songs I had to force myself to sit through.

"_**The walls between you and I, always pushing us apart, nothing left but scars fight after fight…"**_

It sounded like this song was going to be a tearjerker too. She had one hand on the base of the microphone, like she was going to remove it from its stand, but the other hand was on the stand itself. He eyes remained closed.

Now, I wasn't usually someone who sang for other people. Hell, I normally never even sang for myself. I didn't like the way my voice sounded. But on the odd times that I did sing, I never closed my eyes while doing so. I don't know what it would do for the music, or if it would affect the way the song made me feel, or even if closing my eyes would help my soul to feel more of the song I was singing. I would have to ask someone else just what closing your eyes while you're singing did, beyond hiding the audience from view.

Or maybe that was just it? Maybe closing one's eyes hid the audience from view, so one could focus on the performance of the song, and less on what the audience was thinking of the song. Or maybe she was picturing the audience behind her eyelids anyway, and maybe picturing her mother in the crowd as well.

"_**The space between our common rage started growing shorter, disappearing slowly day after day…"**_

Damn these pain-filled songs! Karaoke was about being happy and having fun, not releasing your soul into an audience! I continued to listen to Rouge, thinking about my own relationships with people. Most of my family had died or been killed off by Eggman Nero, and those few that were still alive had deemed me cursed because of my constant battle against him. I felt so alone most days…

"_**I was sitting there waiting in my room for you; you were waiting for me too, and it makes me wonder…"**_

Rouge had begun swaying on stage. Her hands were formerly spread apart and resting on both mic and mic stand. Now, one held a mic released from the stand, and the other was halfway wrapped around her body, almost like one holds their stomach when in pain. She swung her hips left and right, in time with the music.

"_**The older I get, will I get over it? It's been way too long for the times we missed; I didn't know then it would hurt like this…"**_

Pain lasts so much longer than happiness. This is a fact in life; a fact that we as beings must grow to accept. It's not a fact that can be taught, no matter how hard we try to teach it to another being, or how hard our parents try to teach it to us. Just the fact that it takes longer to stop crying than it does to stop laughing should be proof enough, but usually it's not. We, as beings, are naïve and ignorant of such simply obvious things.

"_**But I think, the older I get, maybe I'll get over it… it's been way too long for the times we missed; I can't believe it still hurts like this."**_

Her voice continued to carry, strong and sure, over the crowd. Though her eyes were closed, though her song started out unsteady, she seemed to be drawing strength from the fact that the people here were _still _here, and _still_ listening. How she could be sure that we were still here listening with her eyes closed is beyond me.

"_**The time between those cutting words built up our defenses; it never made no sense, it just made me hurt…"**_

They must have fought often, Rouge and her mother. There must have been such violence in that family. I was starting to wonder just how long she stuck around in her household before just running away. Did she even run away, or was she stubborn enough to live it through until she was old enough to move out? And just how long had it been since she talked to her mother? So many questions were running through my head. I wondered if I had enough space to let loose any tears…

"_**Do you believe that time heals all wounds? It's started getting better, but it's easy not to fight when I'm not with you…"**_

At least she wasn't whining into the mic like so many other heartbreakers I've heard. Not heartbreakers tonight, mind you. I mean, there was a lot of untapped talent here. If there hadn't been so much trouble and turmoil in this dimension, I'm sure that just about everyone here could have made a very successful music career. I'd even heard rumors that the blue blaze himself had been in a band with his brother and sister at one time. I didn't even know he had a brother and sister.

"_**I was sitting there waiting in my room for you; you were waiting for me too, and it makes me wonder…"**_

That must have been the pre-chorus. It was the same line she sang a minute ago, and I was pretty sure she was going to sing more of the same lines.

I've tried to write my own songs, but they were never really liked. That's another reason why I rarely sing. Nobody seems to like the stuff I sing. My songs don't rhyme, and they hide deeper and more philosophical meanings than the superficial songs nowadays that are about making money and having fun. My favorite bands are often passed by unnoticed by the people I associate with, while I can't seem to get away from their favorite bands and singular artists.

Although, sitting here and listing to these other songs from bands I've never heard of, I figured I'd have to go looking for some of their music.

"_**The older I get, will I get over it? It's been way too long for the times we missed; I didn't know then it would hurt like this. But I think, the older I get, maybe I'll get over it… it's been way too long for the times we missed; I can't believe it still hurts like this."**_

I could see the change in the music before I heard it. I'd figured we were at least halfway through the song, and if I squinted, I could just barely make out a tear forcing its way out of her left eye. No doubt she could feel the tear. That's probably why she deemed it necessary to open her eyes.

She brought in her other arm from around her waist, and balled her hand into a fist. She held the mic just below her mouth while looking out into the crowd, and looked almost like she was praying with her fists together. I started to feel sorry for her.

"_**What was I waiting for? I should have taken less and given you more; I should have weathered the storm. I need your say so bad…"**_

Her voice was beginning to break. She was singing her heart out, and her heart was beginning to break. This was a side of the bat that I had never seen before. It was a side I'm sure nobody had ever seen before.

Movement behind Rouge while she was singing caught my eye. The curtain seemed to be parting to let someone else through. Rouge was caught up in her singing, so obviously the movement went unnoticed by her.

A hand shot out from the curtain, clutching a microphone of its own. The glove worn upon it was black, as was the fur upon the wrist. Finally the curtain parted, and another female bat took the stage, and half the crowd gasped. I don't know why; this night seemed full of surprises and special guest singers. I was half expecting someone to show up for Rouge.

The female was older than Rouge, and it was blatantly apparent. The years had not been kind to her. Her face was filled with wrinkles, and the bags under her eyes made her look like she hadn't had a good night's sleep in years. Her wings, unlike her daughter's, sagged from the age. She was dressed in a modest gown, one that looked to be made of white silk. It contrasted so much against her black fur that it made my eyes hurt.

"_**What was I waiting for? This should have been the best we'd ever had!"**_

The new singer, I guess, changed the words to the song when she began singing, because the words seemed to cause Rouge to stumble, like she thought she sung the wrong words.

In any case, Rouge snapped her head to the side to get a look at the intruder, and I think even a blind man could have seen the amount of shock registered on her face. Her mouth dropped open farther than I could have ever imagined. If one looked close enough, one could have seen her lower lip start to quiver. She obviously wasn't expecting this woman to show up tonight, much less take the stage.

The woman smiled at her daughter, and raised the mic to her mouth to continue the song where the music had dropped off. Granted, she changed the words a bit, but it made more sense now.

"_**The older we get, will we get over it?"**_

Rouge finally joined in, singing with her once the initial shock wore off.

"_**It's been way too long for the times we missed, we didn't know then it would hurt like this."**_

They were singing together, the way I'm sure they each would have loved to do back in the day. They were singing much like I would have loved to sing with my own mother, had she not been gone already. These thoughts were making my eyes start to water.

"_**But I think, the older we get, I'm sure we'll get over it… It's been way too long for this time we've missed, I can't believe it still hurts like this!"**_

Sounded like an abrupt end to the song, though not that abrupt. Rouge couldn't sing anymore. She was too busy giving her mother one of the tightest hugs I've ever seen. Her mother was hugging her back, like a parent who hasn't seen her child in so many years. The microphones were still in the hands of both performers, and though Rouge's mic was muffled, her mother's wasn't. Little snippets of what Rouge was saying between sobs could be heard.

"I missed you so much…" she was saying. "I couldn't keep it all in anymore…"

Her mother continued to rub her back and pet her head in a comforting way. Eventually, Rouge stopped crying, and brought her mic to her mouth.

"L-ladies and gentlemen… my mother, Mrs. Ebon."

Her mother took a bow, and Rouge could be seen smiling. "That… that concludes my performance tonight. But before I go… the news I promised to give you. Knuckles will return later tonight… after I thank him properly for this engagement ring…"

What the-?


	8. CH8: Over

The applause for Rouge after her announcement was nearly deafening. I guess the audience wanted to apologize for laughing at the song, in a way. Her attack on Knuckles during the song was rather brutal.

I had finally made my way back to the audience and to my chair. The teahouse seemed to have swelled since the night had started. There were definitely more people here now than there had been at the beginning of the event. I could see why, though: the performances were a ton more entertaining than they would have been had this been at a bar and we all had been drunk.

The announcer took the stage once the applause had died down, and tapped the microphone as he cleared his throat. According to the program, there were only two performances left: a mystery guest, and then that Stealth guy. I guess that Stealth was known enough to not be considered a mystery, but I was still puzzled about him.

"Ahem. Next up to sing is a very special guest from an alternate dimension. Give it up for the princess Blaze the Cat!"

The announcer stepped away from the microphone as the curtain rolled back, and the audience broke into applause as Blaze stepped forth into the light. I clapped as well, being polite. Blaze surely fit the 'mystery guest' stereotype. We had only had one or two encounters with her, and Sonic really had more experience around her than I did. I admit I had been too caught up in my grief over Cosmo to pay attention to her.

She pulled up a bar stool to the microphone, sat upon it, then adjusted the mic to fit her height. She had an acoustic guitar with her, and I could see Silver standing on stage behind her with a violin, apparently playing background music for the song. I was shocked to see Silver, though. We hadn't seen him around in ages.

There wasn't much known about Silver either. We'd never had an adventure with the psychic hedgehog, and really only knew him through stories Blaze had told, and pictures she carried. It was obvious she held high respect for the hedgehog, and possibly more than that, but her being royalty and him being commoner, Blaze was obviously afraid of the ramifications.

"Greetings. As announced, my name is Blaze the Cat. I will be performing the song 'Already Over,' as popularized by the band Red. I hope you enjoy my performance." Her voice was soft, but regal. She was nervous, but in her eyes there resided a spark of determination. I had a feeling this was going to be another one of those heartbreaking songs as seemed to be popular tonight.

She picked up her guitar and adjusted the strap on it, letting it rest across her legs. It was already tuned, and she ran a hand over the strings, letting its tone echo throughout the establishment as a sign for silence. She was obviously waiting for Silver to start, but the hedgehog looked troubled. He walked up to her and whispered in her ear, his words completely inaudible to the rest of us. Blaze blushed, then leaned into the microphone again.

"Uh... can anyone play the drums? My backup here needs a beat to play with..."

A spattering of laughter rippled through the audience, and I looked around. Stealth had his hand in the air, and Blaze pointed him out.

"You, with your hand in the air. You know this song?" He nodded. "Okay, we can use you, please."

Stealth spread his wings and flew from his seat to the stage in one gentle leap, barely disturbing the air around him. I would have been amazed had I not already seen him do the same movement in battle. He had the curtains opened further to allow the drum set to be revealed, which was smart on his part; the curtains would have muffled the sound and threw off the music for the rest of the teahouse. He took his place on the drum throne and picked up the drumsticks that had been left by the Chaotix, then adjusted his height until he was comfortable. Once everything was in order, he nodded to Silver.

Silver began the song with a gentle stroke of his bow over the strings of the violin. A sufficient tone echoed throughout the teahouse, and Blaze followed the intro with single plucks of the strings from her guitar. I'd heard the song before, and it was obvious the part that the cat was playing was normally played by a piano player. A few seconds into the intro, Stealth began playing the drums, in a perfect imitation of the rhythm used for this particular song.

The violin slowly grew louder, and the guitar playing faded from the piano part into a custom acoustic part. It was quite genius, actually. The drums followed the swell of the music, and it was obvious that Stealth very much knew this song.

Silver's eyes were closed by now, losing himself in his music. I could see Blaze looking at him out of the corner of her eyes, as if she was expecting him to falter, even though she hadn't begun singing yet.

She contented with his playing, she leaned gently into the microphone.

_**"You never go... you're always here..."**_

Her singing voice was shaky, yet sultry. It sounded like she was used to singing... at least to herself.

_**"Under my skin... I can not run away... fading slowly..."**_

The music began swelling, and I was already on the edge of my seat, as was most of the people in the teahouse. Her voice had that much of an effect. Even Rouge and her mother looked intrigued.

_**"I'd give it all to you, letting go of me, reaching as I fall... I know it's already over now! Nothing left to lose, loving you again... I know it's already over, already over now..."**_

Blaze's eyes were closed now, the cat becoming lost in her own music. It was amazing, the amount of chills that were cascading down my spine. I knew I wasn't alone. I could see people shivering in the crowd around me, and even Stealth's drumming seemed to be slightly affected. It seemed perhaps the only people unaffected were Silver and Blaze herself.

"_**My best defense... running from you…"**_

Heh, that sounded a lot like Sonic. Then again, Blaze _was_ from an alternate dimension, where she was acting the part of Sonic in our own world. But then...

_**"I can't resist... take all you **_**want**_** from me... breaking slowly..."**_

If Blaze was the alternate Sonic, then Silver's part was that of...?

_**"I'd give it all to you, letting go of me, reaching as I fall... I know it's already over now! Nothing left to lose, loving you again... I know it's already over, already over now..."**_

it was beginning to make sense to me now! Sonic came here tonight to profess his love for Amy. I could guess that this song was the same thing for Blaze, to profess her love to Silver. True, it was only a guess, but the lyrics were affirming my prediction...

I was too far lost in my thoughts that I had looked into my lap rather than at the stage. A bright flash of light interrupted my thinking and caused me to snap my head back to the stage. Blaze had erupted into flames!

_**"You're ALL I'M REACHING FOR! It's already over... ALL I'M REACHING FOOOOR! It's already over now..."**_

The flames died down around her body, and I realized that she had briefly broken into her super form, probably as a way to catch the attention of Silver. It had worked. His playing had been interrupted and he was having trouble getting his bearings again, but that was fine. Stealth continued to play, albeit quite a bit softer than he _had_ been playing. Blaze continued the song more or less alone on her guitar.

_**"I'd give it all to you... I'd offer up my soul... It's already over now..."**_

She deviated from the song here, continuing her solo playing but allowing her singing voice to die off. It looked like she was crying, and her voice began to crack. She sounded as if she was filled with sorrow.

"_**Give it all to you... letting go of me... reaching as I fall... I know it's already over now! Nothing left to lose, I'm loving you AGAIN! It's already over, ALREADY OVER now..."**_

The music died from her fingertips and from her voice, and Stealth stopped playing. Silver had long since quit trying to catch up, instead taking the time to listen to the lyrics of the song his friend was playing. It looked as if he had never heard the lyrics before, and had just practiced the song itself, at Blaze's urging.

Blaze was sobbing into the microphone, and trying to hide it. But muffled sobs are sometimes louder than sobs that are not muffled. The teahouse was silent, unable to say or do anything, not knowing how to react. Granted, this was not the first time tonight someone had erupted into tears on stage, but it was the first time someone had erupted into flames while doing so.

The fires burned fiercely, but didn't do anything to the stage or the stool. They were concentrated on Blaze's person, seemingly just an illusion. My vision was focused solely on Blaze, so when Silver touched her shoulder it surprised me as much as it surprised the princess.

She jerked her head up and looked directly at the silver hedgehog, her eyes full of tears. He placed his other hand on her chin, lifted her face gently, and kissed her.

It would have been really funny if someone had broken wind right then. Thankfully, nobody did anything of the sort. For almost a minute nobody breathed or moved a muscle. The kiss between the two broke, and the fires died down, Blaze once again reverting her normal form. They stared into each other's eyes for what seemed like an eternity, and they I heard Silver speak, his voice picked up by the microphone.

"It's not over."

They kissed again, and the teahouse exploded into applause.


	9. CH9: Release

A quick check of the clock on the wall as I took the stage behind the curtain showed that it was nearing nine o'clock. The show had started earlier that night at seven, so a two hour show was a good show. My song was the final one, and after I was done, each of the performers from the night would take the stage and take a bow in conclusion of the first annual Mobius Memorial Karaoke Night.

The emcee and a couple emergency personnel were checking Blaze and Silver for burns, as well as checking the stage for burnt spots. They needn't have worried, though. Her Majesty Blaze's name should have given the powers away from the first time the audience heard it. I could tell she had some sort of special fire-related power, even though I had never seen it or even really heard of her before this night.

So many memories and emotions had been released at this teahouse tonight. From my buddy Carbine's breakdown on stage, to Shadow's sudden disappearance (no doubt a Chaos Control), through two engagement announcements and my father's massive (and completely unneeded) ass kicking… I should consider myself incredibly lucky to have been here for this event. I _do_ consider myself lucky to have been here.

"Stealth, the stage seems to have been left miraculously untouched. The stool too, if you need it." The emcee had popped his head through the stage curtains to tell me this, but looked at me like I was blind. Perhaps it was my pupil-less eyes that caused him to give me the weird look, but I shrugged it off and just nodded. "Whenever you're ready, just say so and I'll announce you."

I nodded and he disappeared back through the curtains to announce to the audience the findings of the investigation into princess Blaze's flaming performance. I grabbed my guitar and tuned it, strumming a couple times to make sure I had the correct chords tuned in. I ran my pre-song speech through my head, then flexed my wrists and steeled myself for the coming emotional onslaught.

If you looked at the itinerary for the night, you would have seen my name at the very bottom with a question mark beside it regarding the song I was gong to play. I was one of the people that had helped arrange this event, and had signed myself up for it before I knew what it was that I would play. I wasn't very good on the guitar and only knew a couple songs, so as the night grew closer I would practice as hard as I could on what I _did_ know, and what could be a suitable song to play.

I wish I had picked a song definitively, because it turned out that since the plan was to not have any artists repeated during the night, I couldn't play my original song anyway. My mother chose to sing a song by _RED_, and my song Faceless was by them. So I had to come up with a new song in the ten or so minutes I would have between her performance and my own… you can bet I cursed myself for my indecisiveness then.

The emcee poked his head back through the curtain as I finished my warm-up and I nodded my head to indicate that I was ready to perform. He nodded as well and retreated to the microphone to give me my introduction.

"And now, the final act of the night. His face is generally unknown in these parts, and I'm sure he'll give his reasons for that, but in the meantime let's have a round of applause for Stealth!"

Gee, thanks. Carbine didn't even get such a lousy introduction. Guess the emcee is just tired of dealing with us music-types. -.-

I pulled the stool up to the mic and sat down, allowing my wings to droop to the sides of my body and hang off the seat. I adjusted the mic so it wasn't so high, took a deep breath, and smiled.

"My name is Stealth, and I am from a future that will never happen here. I am from a desolate wasteland pockmarked by battle, where nearly every living thing has been snuffed out, save for a small tribe of elder echidnas, and where the mighty Chaos has been obliterated to the point of no resurrection. I come from a time where there is no hope, where there is no peace, where life is hunted from the minute it is born. We have survived by playing the fool, by playing dead, by staying hidden and not going after that which oppresses us… until I was born.

"I am the son of the legendary guardian of Chaos and an amazingly gifted and blessed jewel thief. My father died while fighting to protect my mother and my unborn essence against an entity known as the Mriah. Though their emergence was not directly his fault, he still held himself responsible for their appearance, as well as their subsequent possessions of both Sonic the Hedgehog and Shadow the Hedgehog. These two would be the vessels that would destroy my world."

An audible gasp echoed throughout the crowd. Obviously they believed that their heroes were invincible.

"By their hands, the Mriah would scar my planet, kill my parents' friends, and render the Chaos Emeralds completely powerless. The Master Emerald was reduced to a few shards of pretty glass, the city of Station Square little more than the same. By the time I was born, the Mriah had committed planetcide on Mobius, and all that remained of the heroes of the planet was my mother and the echidnas.

"My mother raised me as best she could, and the song I am going to sing tonight is one she learned not long after she became pregnant with me. It's a song that she taught to the elder echidna clan just before she died. She used to sing it to me to put me to sleep, and it is one that I feel describes me and my time's relationship perfectly and vividly.

"Presenting... Prayer of the Refugee, by _Rise Against_."

A bit wordier than anyone before myself, perhaps, but it had to be said. I relaxed my shoulders and took a deep breath, then with a firm hand I took hold of the guitar in my lap and began the opening chords.

With each strum, my wrist and hand relaxed. I began to lose myself in the music, and would soon relive my darkest hours with the words. The opening verse was nearing, and before I closed my eyes to concentrate on the task ahead, a final glance to the crowd showed they were intent on the music; my mother's eyes were wide with recognition already.

"**Warm yourself by the fire, son, and the morning will come soon. I'll tell you stories of a better time, in a place that we once knew…**"

Already my voice began to crack, and I wondered if I was truly ready for this night. I kept my eyes closed, and let the memories roll in.

"**Before we packed our bags and left all this behind us in the dust, we had a place that we could call home, and a life no one could touch…**"

_I remembered the stories the elder echidnas told me of the great Sonic the Hedgehog. I remember every adventure the ever regaled about his exploits; about how he stopped the evil doctor Robotnik at every turn, how he could harness the greatest powers of the emeralds without wavering, and how he risked life and limb to protect the weak and innocent without a single second thought._

_There were similar stories told about other heroes from before my time. There was the aforementioned legendary guardian of the Master Emerald, my father, who was known to be naïve at times only because he had spent the majority of his life away from civilization and had no idea who to trust and who to be wary of. It would be because of this naivety that the Master Emerald would be stolen the first time and cause Angel Island to drop from the sky, but it would also introduce him to Sonic, and get him to open himself up and to learn more about the world outside of Angel Island._

"**Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down! Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down, doooown…**"

_Of course, outside of the heroes there were the typical villains of my time. As I mentioned already, there was a human known as doctor Robotnik, who dealt destruction and mayhem with mechanical behemoths, and enslaved animals to do his bidding. He was always after Sonic, always trying to do him in, and for what? So that he'd have nobody to stand in his way of the collection of the Chaos Emeralds and world domination._

_Then there was a character known as Nega Eggman. From what I've been able to gather, this strange enigma of a man was almost the exact opposite of doctor Robotnik, except that he too wanted to take over the world. He spent his time trying to collect the Sol Emeralds in his dimension and being thwarted by Princess Blaze._

"**We are the angry and the desperate, the hungry and the cold; we are the ones who kept quiet and always did what we were told.**_"_

_The Freedom Fighters, as Sonic and his gang were known to call themselves, consisted of Sonic himself, Miles 'Tails' Prower, Amy Rose, and my father Knuckles. The villains were doctor Robotnik, Nega Eggman, and an alternate, evil Sonic who liked to be called Scourge._

_Then came the few who stood between the groups, with no official affiliation. For instance, there was my mother, Rouge, a simple jewel thief with extensive martial arts training, a broken family history, and an eye for trouble. Then there was Shadow the Hedgehog, the self-proclaimed Ultimate Lifeform, who had problems with depression and self-blaming, and who became the second vessel for the Mriah to destroy my world. These two would eventually join the humans' military, G.U.N., and work as mercenaries._

_Well, _worked. _Then Robotnik's final plan released _them_…_

"**But we've been sweating while you slept so calm in the safety of your home; we've been pulling out the nails of everything you've known…**"

_The evil doctor Robotnik was, as I've often been told and have already reminisced, always trying to find a way to get one over on Sonic. As far as was able to be gathered, he stumbled upon an old echidna prophecy about the end of the world, and thought that he could control this devastating power. The prophecy told of not eight Chaos energies, but twelve: the seven Chaos Emeralds, the Master Emerald, the god of Chaos, and three Chaos Spirits. There was a Heroic Spirit, a Neutral Spirit, and an Evil Spirit._

_The Spirits were new information to the doctor. Supposedly, two of the three Spirits would be released into the world when the time was right for their skills to be harnessed, and they would choose hosts that they felt were worthy of their power. The prophecy told of the defining characteristics of the three Spirits: that they'd be able to harness the energies of the original Emeralds and ascend to a higher form._

_With this information, Robotnik was able to determine who the Heroic and Neutral Spirits had chosen to hold their power: Sonic and Shadow, respectively. But the third Spirit had not been released, to be held in check by Chaos. The doctor then devised a two-fold plan to help rid him of Sonic: release the god Chaos from the Master Emerald and use him to destroy the world. At the same time, Robotnik would release and capture the Evil Spirit to be used in an experimental shell, should Sonic find some way to defeat Chaos._

_The release and capture went simply enough. While Robotnik made a show of taunting Sonic and his friends for the Chaos Emeralds and powering up Chaos, each time he retreated to his flying fortresses, he continued work on his artificial lifeform. Codenamed C.H.E.R.I.G., Robotnik used DNA captured from Shadow, Tails, and Knuckles to create a hybrid with the strengths of all of them, and none of their weaknesses. The creature would coincide with another part of the prophecy he uncovered, stating that a similar creature would pose as the guardian protectorate in an effort to fool the legendary guardian and destroy the Master Emerald._

"**Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down! Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down, doooown…**"

_Robotnik was a fool. Soon after the incident with the Biohazard, his creation escaped his confines and decimated the secret space station upon which Robotnik had built his lab. He survived his plummet to Mobius, and was recovered by a naïve echidna named Tsunori who helped nurse Cherig back to health. For over a year, the hybrid was in a coma, his body recovering from the shock of falling from orbit to the ground, and yet Tsunori never gave up hope, praying to Chaos that the hybrid might survive. Tsunori believed the hybrid to be the guardian protectorate, as the prophecy foretold._

_During the year of Cherig's coma, Robotnik lost control of another of his creations, Metal Sonic. The fight that ensued between the metallic fiend and the blue blur caused Robotnik to finally see the error of his ways, at least when it came to building large mechanical or artificial lifeforms with self-supporting AI systems. Robotnik would continue to harass Sonic, but no longer built henchmen to do the fighting for him, as well as completely forgetting about Cherig in the process._

_And then Cherig attacked. The swathe of destruction he left in the echidna ruins and beyond would be told over and over by many of the elders for years afterwards. When the hybrid awoke, he did so with a fire in his eyes not seen by anyone since the original destruction of the echidna clan by the god Chaos._

_Tsunori was the first to suffer the wrath of Cherig, and the young echidna had no chance. The hybrid opened his palm at the boy and let loose a volley of energy that completely obliterated him and his room. There wasn't so much as a speck of dust left with any trace of the echidna, and the ensuing collapse of the caves made sure that nobody would be able to find anything for a few years anyway._

"**So open your eyes, child, let's be on our way; broken windows and ashes are guiding the way…**"

_Cherig made his way through the hidden palace caves with one thought in mind: kill the guardian. The Master Emerald had been moved back into the caves no more than six months prior to this event in an effort to keep it away from Robotnik a bit longer. Reunited with his clan, Knuckles had been able to place more than just himself as guards to the main cave, and the guardian spent his days perched upon the Emerald as its last line of defense._

_Cherig didn't even bother with the guards. He blasted his way into the main cavern from the side, nearly covering Knuckles with debris in the process. From his hole, he shot over to the altar and started throwing punch after punch at Knuckles in a blind fury, trying to rip the echidna limb from limb, but he underestimated the guardian._

_Knuckles managed to knock the hybrid back, but he just kept coming. Compared to the natural-born Knuckles, Cherig was artificially created to need neither food nor sleep. Had Robotnik been able to do so, he would have made Cherig not require air either, but the best he'd been able to do was give the hybrid a nanomachine-fueled healing system capable to channeling energy to different parts of the body for defensive and/or offensive purposes._

_Cherig eventually began using those nanomachines at their fullest, throwing beam after beam of energy at my father. Knuckles was just able to dodge them, but the beams continued up into the roof and caused it to collapse, breaking a hole into the top of the cavern and allowing the light to shine through._

_The sudden light blinded the hybrid, and Knuckles used this opportunity to grab Cherig by the wrists and flip him over in the air, slamming him into the rocky floor. The momentum created allowed the hybrid to bounce back into the air, at which point Knuckles grabbed him by the ankle and tossed him as hard as he could against the cavern wall. The hybrid tumbled through the air and into a pointed outcropping of the wall, which impaled him through the chest and sprayed the inside of the sacred cavern with blood._

_Knuckles was sure he had won, and began to clean the top of the Master Emerald of debris from the collapsed cavern. His blood-soaked hand touched the Emerald, and the Evil Spirits from within Cherig's body used this opportunity to escape from the blood itself, causing the Master Emerald to explode and pierce Knuckles with thousands of shards._

_He would live, but the Mriah were now loosed…_

"**Keep quiet no longer, we'll sing through the day of the lives that we've lost, and the lives we'll reclaim… go!**"

_The Mriah started with Sonic. They went after the Heroic Spirit within him, and in possessing the Spirit, they warped his mind and body. It took no more than an hour after Sonic was caught for them to use him to destroy the city of Station Square. The energy-firing capability present to Cherig had made its way to the arsenal of powers given to the Mriah, and through the Mriah it was given to Sonic. The Hell-blast that was used to obliterate the city also caught Sonic's friend and partner, Tails._

_My mother used to tell stories about the destruction. Herself, Amy Rose, and my father Knuckles survived only because they were blown into a sewer below the shopping mall that they all attended. As they recovered from the shock of the explosion, Shadow appeared. They watched Sonic survey the destruction of the city, then turn toward the water and take off like a bat out of hell, running atop of it towards an island a few miles off._

_Things get a little blurry after that, it seems. They next time Mriah Sonic would be met, the survivors would be gathered at Tails' old workshop, looking for a way to defend themselves against the onslaught. An old prototype ice ray of Tails was recovered, and with the little technological expertise that Shadow possessed, the group would be able to get it working. It ran on the power of the silver Chaos Emerald, and against an overwhelming power like the Mriah, it would give the group a chance to escape and hide._

_What they failed to realize was that it wasn't their lives that the Mriah was after. It was, instead, the Spirit within Shadow, the legendary guardian, and the Chaos Emerald. Mriah Sonic landed outside the workshop not long after the ray was completed, all essence of Sonic completely erased from the shell. Shadow exited the workshop empty-handed and confronted the monster, and after a bit of banter the two began to fight. Shadow was trying to give the group a chance to get away._

_Shadow's fight would be short-lived. Narrowly dodging a blast from Mriah Sonic, Shadow would go to use Chaos Control on the monster to attack it, and would be caught off-guard by its _own_ Chaos Control, which was more powerful. The Mriah used this opportunity to possess the Neutral Chaos Spirit, taking control of Shadow's body._

"**Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down! Don't hold me up, now, I can stand my own ground, I don't need your help now, you will let me down, down, down!**"

_After hiding the group in a series of tunnels near the Hidden Palace, Knuckles would go back for Shadow, only to find two Mriah entities instead of just one. The ensuing battle was severely one-sided until Knuckles actually managed to fire the ray at Mriah Shadow, at which point he was able to hold his own against Mriah Sonic._

_Finally, my father knocked the monster to the ground and began to channel power into his fist to deliver the final blow, when he was caught from behind by a newly thawed Mriah Shadow. The Mriah used Shadow's body to buzz Knuckles in half using his spines, and the ice ray fell into their hands. They removed the silver Emerald from its power core and crushed the gem into dust._

_The destruction of the silver Emerald caused the Hidden Palace to begin to collapse. The loss of an Emerald of power, as well as the controller, was too much for the Palace to contend with after centuries of having the power nearby, and in the destruction, Amy Rose was crushed. My mother, only a few weeks pregnant with me, managed to escape into the deeper caves that were held up purely by natural formations, and the Mriah destroyed the rest of the planet._

"**Don't hold me up, I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground!**"

_My mother died five years after giving birth to me. I was trained by the elders in many forms of martial arts and weapons, and when I reached 18, I was given my sword, forged with the remaining shards of the Master Emerald, and inlaid with pieces of the remaining six Emeralds. I was tasked with the protection of the altar of the Master Emerald, which I refused, stating that it was stupid to protect an empty altar and that I should instead pursue the Mriah._

_For my refusal, I was banished from the Hidden Palace._

"**Don't hold me up, I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground!**"

_In my journey from the Hidden Palace, I stumbled across a large shard of the Master Emerald. Its power radiated with my sword, and the god Chaos contacted me. He used the last of his power to send me back in time, but he couldn't send me far enough. I arrived just in time to see the Mriah take over Shadow, and had to fight to defend my father and destroy the Mriah. To bear witness to the possession of Shadow was a sight I did not want to repeat._

_My father arrived as I was fighting, and took the opportunity to once again freeze Mriah Shadow in his tracks. With his help, I was able to destroy the Mriah inside of Sonic, unfortunately needing to kill Sonic to do so. With Mriah Sonic gone, it didn't take long to destroy Mriah Shadow. With the monster defeated, I was able to locate the shard of the Master Emerald originally responsible for sending me back, and convinced the god to send me farther._

"**Don't hold me up, I don't need your help, I'll stand my ground!**"

_I would arrive in time to see Tsunori's home cave in upon itself, and I would rush to the cavern of the Master Emerald. I convinced the guards to let me in to see Knuckles just in time for Cherig to break in, and me and my father both faced the menace. I was intent on making sure history didn't repeat itself._

_When the final blow was delivered to Cherig in the form of a toss into the rocky wall, I rushed with him, spreading my wings and covering his body as his blood erupted from it. When I was sure he was dead and his body no longer spurted blood, I fell to the floor, exhausted, and passed out._

_When I awoke, I was in the care of Knuckles. He asked my name, and I gave it; Stealth. He asked where I forged my sword, and I told him I was from an alternate time, an alternate dimension, after which he ceased to ask any questions and just nodded his head. He made a joke about me being his son, and I just sat there in stony silence, wondering whether or not to tell him the truth. Ultimately, I decided not to._

"**Don't let me down, down, down, down, down!**"

The final note of my song rand clear and true, and I laid down my guitar by my side. I took another deep breath, then opened my eyes. The crowd just stared, awestruck, but I didn't know the reason why. From the crowd came a blur of blue, and Sonic soon stood by my side, offering me a hand.

"Dude, as soon as you closed your eyes, your sword started glowing. It showed us images from your thoughts, man. Everything you thought as you sang, we saw in our own heads. You've been through more in your life than I _ever_ want to go through, and now we understand why you came here." He smiled.

My thoughts… my memories of my former life were now laid bare to these people. I finally feel accepted.

The teahouse exploded in applause.


	10. CH10: Conclusion

"Such an awesome last song, eh? This concludes our event for the evening. Please exit the teahouse in an orderly fashion; the performers will be right outside to shake hands and give autographs. If you'd like this to be an annual occurrence, please fill out an approval slip and stuff it into the box at the front desk as you leave. Thank you!"

My voice echoed through the air of the teahouse as the audience finally got settled after Stealth's performance. I, for one, was glad it was finally over. What with hot-headed bats who can't take a joke, cats who set themselves on fire with some kind of optical illusion, and so many heroic celebrities here at once, I was surprised we hadn't gotten attacked by Eggman himself. Tonight would have been the perfect opportunity for the psychotic doctor to rid himself of his pests, you know?

The teahouse was finally emptying, and I could tell the suggestion box was getting stuffed to the brim. We made an awesome amount of money selling tea and cakes to this crowd tonight, and if we managed to do it again next year, perhaps we could even start charging admission!

Sonic and Amy Rose were going to get married. Knuckles and that hot-headed bat Rouge were going to get married. The fire-cat Blaze had a new boyfriend, as well as that teenage rabbit. A G.U.N. mercenary learned to cry, and we got one hell of a light show from that batidna thing. All-in-all, it was a good event.

Now that I think about it, I wouldn't mind doing this again. Maybe next time we could even get Eggman to sing something!

… nah.

**THE END**


End file.
